A Night in Rocksbourg I: A New Beginning

Introduction

The first out of six parts in the Rocksbourg series. Now that Karras is dead, the City has been chaotic. Plots, conspiracies and murders. Garrett decides to retreat to Rocksbourg, some kind of ancient fortress town. After some exploration, working in the outskirts and getting into contact with some Keepers, Garrett eventually decides to head toward the Builder’s Cathedral in the heart of Rocksbourg to find a good bit of wealth. However the city is not all that it seems to be and the night has only just begun.

Review

You’ll start the mission off in your little hideout where you’ll need to make your way deeper within the city and find a way toward the Builder’s Cathedral. This will of course be followed by a lot of exploration since there are many places to visit and paths to follow despite the small scall, you might even miss a lot of places during your first time playing. There are a few readables about that mostly bring depth to the story and hints to finding certain items, but inventory specific notes weren’t named for referencing back on. An interesting element to the level is that you can interact with candles, frobbing them will put them out giving you an extra area of dark space without wasting any of your limited water arrows best saved for inconvenient torches. One of the major annoyances I did come across is how the lockpicking was too drawn out even during situations it wasn’t warranted, which causes some tedium and impacting any tension. I even encountered one long picking sequence chest right behind a similarly lengthy door, so it is best to prepare for some patience if you wish to find all of the loot.

I had some issues with the keys you need to find during a specific part which can be hard to spot due to how dark the level is. There is a document hinting to their whereabouts but the very key I required to read those was the one I had trouble finding. The mission itself finds other means to shine amongst these hurdles. If you don’t plan on using the blackjack, expect there to be a challenge getting around unnoticed. Several locations in the mission are fairly small and compact, including the streets patrolled by the Watch and Builder’s Children. Sneaking past will require care since slipping by won’t be easy, they tend to react to even the most minor noise and you’ll probably find your head rolling into the nearby gutter. The hassle can be worth it though for the darker tone, something else is brewing with Namez going crazy and some odd goings on concerning a cellar, culminating to an absolutely great twist which comes like a brick to the face, adding a tense mystery regarding Rocksbourg.

This part of Rocksbourg is a very closed in and gritty looking city, with many alleys and a lot of dark ambience surrounding the area. Many buildings are situated here making the most of what limited real estate exists within the fortress walls, each taking on a design of their own which blend with the rest quite well. The structural density of the city looks great because of the variety of different building shapes and textures, including a limited usage of the vertical space for extra spots to poke around. Rocksbourg makes for a good first impression utilising its moodier environment to depict old buildings, resorting to grimey brick and worn wood textures. Extra flourishes like moonlight shining through windows and cobwebbed ceilings are delightful attention to detail. Music has been used from the Silent Hill series to add a similar feeling to what those games do and infact work very well while doing so. Certain sections of the city will use a different track to set the mood, except for the one the one used when reading books and parchments which I found a bit distracting. Environmental sounds throughout the city is another piece that builds upon the overall atmosphere, the noise of various things happening in the distance and through the alleys such as a cat crying out, really make you feel that you’re there. New voice acting is also used to create some fresh conversations between some of the street characters, always a welcome addition.

Conclusion

The first in the series that works well enough as an introduction for what is to come. A detailed and gritty looking city district with plenty of exploration to immerse yourself within. The tigher streets and alleys make for challenging patrol routes and there’s some atmospheric gameplay considering the background being built upon.

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